Why Are There So Many Cats in Istanbul?

In my last photoessay on Turkey’s biggest city, I wistfully recalled my many hours of wandering the cobblestone streets of Istanbul, my camera and imagination in tow. It was Autumn on the cusp of winter and the air got cold quickly, lending an urgency to my wanderings that I did not expect. I might have had all the time in the world, but I wanted to see it all before I froze. Pushed to walk quickly to keep warm, I covered more ground than I expected. And everywhere I walked, there were cats.

I should note that I’m a cat person. Am I cat-whisperer? Maybe not insofar as career choices go, but I do seem to be perpetually followed by cats. In Muang Ngoi, Laos, I would sit down to read on my bungalow’s porch and within minutes, a cat would deftly squeeze between book and knees. Daily, I’d wander to town for dinner and sit on a mat for some food. Seconds later, a feline (sometimes two) would push their way onto my lap, purring furiously. Wandering through Amman, I found myself stooping down to pet scraggly-looking cats, each materializing when I would stop to gather my bearings.

As if reading Robert Fisk weren't cumbersome enough without a cat on your lap? One of many cats in Laos.

In Istanbul, my cat-magnetism (catnetism?) reached higher levels. Walking outside my guesthouse, I was flanked by felines, to the amusement of the staff who wanted to know if I bathed in fish oil. Their suspicions deepened when I returned to my room after a day of wandering to find a cat sitting contentedly in my shower.

The cat-following was out of control.

Cat in my shower at Agora Guesthouse, Istanbul

It was a veritable cat factory, this city. Looking out my window, a green tarp was constantly covered in felines. No matter how many times I checked outside, a different set of cats (two, or three or more) would be gazing back at me, as if to say “what did you expect? We’re just hanging out.”

Cats in Sultanahmet, outside my guesthouse

The truth is, of course, that the city is awash in cats. Many were well-fed and clean, and almost all were affectionate. To be sure, the cats slimmed down and dirtied-up when I walked outside the busier zones of the city into the immigrant areas – parts of Fatih, for example. In those laundry-strewn, narrow streets the cats were more feral, more hungry and certainly less curious. But one constant remained: there were cats everywhere.

Why?

For starters, a predominantly Muslim society where cats are tolerated, even respected. Per an Associated Press article from August 2010, “Islamic lore tells of a cat thwarting a poisonous snake that had approached the Prophet Muhammad. In another tale, the prophet found his cat sleeping on the edge of his vest. Instead of shifting the cat, the prophet cut off the portion of the vest that was free and wore it without disturbing the pet.”

Looking through history books about Islam, many mention the prophet’s love of felines and while variations on the foregoing stories exist, the overarching affection for cats has been consistent.

My usual dinner companion for the kebap cart in Sultanahmet.

At the beginning of the introduction to Lorraine Chittock’s photography book Cats of Cairo, Annemarie Schimmel notes:

“When the British orientalist E. W. Lane lived in Cairo in the 1830′s, he was quite amazed to see, every afternoon, a great number of cats gathering in the garden of the High Court, where people would bring baskets full of food for them. He was told that in this way, the qadi (judge) fulfilled obligations dating back to the 13th-century rule of the Mamluk sultan al-Zahir Baybars. That cat-loving monarch had endowed a “cats’ garden” where the cats of Cairo would find everything they needed and liked. In the course of time, the place had been sold and resold, changed and rebuilt; yet the law required that the Sultan’s endowment should be honoured, and who better than the qadi to carry out the King’s will and take care of the cats?”

Park cat is pensive in Sultanahmet.

Indeed, a popular saying notes “If you kill a cat, you need to build a mosque to be forgiven by God.” As a result, wandering the streets of Istanbul you will see many small containers by the sides of buildings, and discreet food rations doled out by its inhabitants. While the cats are not adopted formally, they are taken care of by no one and everyone, a giant community network of cat caring. Even the World Basketball championships boasted a feline mascot, a blue-and-green eyed “Bascat” after the long-haired Turkish Van.

Sleeping cat at a shisha cafe in Istanbul

Unlike elsewhere in my travels, no one glared at me if I tried to feed then. I was the recipient of a big talking-to by a restaurant owner in Morocco; my feeding the strays would merely ensure that they returned time and time again. In contrast, when I went for chicken wings and couldn’t finish my plate, I tried to surreptitiously slip the cat underneath my chair a morsel of food. Seeing my furtiveness, the owner walked over and, a smile on his face, dropped the cat below a full drumstick to enjoy.

At a chicken wing stall near the old Spice Bazaar.

Of course, it’s not a purely idyllic life for the animals of Istanbul. As I already mentioned, walking the poorer parts of town will open your eyes to the less fortunate of Istanbul’s strays. Catfights in the dead of night are quite common and there are problems with the sheer volume of the strays in town (unless they are spayed they will, of course, beget more cats). Furthermore, until 2004 there was no formal animal welfare law in place, and even with the current law (Animal Welfare Act No. 5199) offenders are only subject to fines. And as this article about dogs in Istanbul notes, canines are treated with much less affection and care.

Curious cat at the Blue Mosque, coming to say hello.

In positive news, however, just last month, Turkey introduced a new law that would make it a crime punishable by jail time to mistreat, torture or leave animals without food or water. The law is in its infancy right now, but those interested in supporting it can go and sign this online petition. It will be interesting to see how, if passed, the rule will be enforced.

Dismounting cat.

As for my trip, I met, petted and cuddled with many a cat during my weeks in Istanbul. As a celiac, I can’t eat wheat flour and breads in Turkey (and thus kepab sandwiches and shwarma sandwiches) were off limits. But the platters of meat were giant-sized and I couldn’t finish them off. Trying to communicate my allergy was laughably impossible, so I would instead order the sandwich, grab a fork – to the confusion of the restaurant’s staff – and eat only the meat and vegetables. But what to do with the meat-soaked bread? Why, give it to the cats, of course!

They were … confused.

Cats and bread: not the best combination.

From cats that look like dictators…..

Not the friendliest-looking of cats.

…to adorable kittens in boxes around town, the history of Istanbul is not complete without considering a feline presence and they are firmly wrapped up in my memories of the city.

Kepab cats in a box, Istanbul

Kepab cats in a box, the back view. These guys sat there each day, with the box safely stored at night and repositioned every morning.

As my guesthouse noted when I departed last month “we look forward to welcoming you back to Istanbul – and the cats will too.”

-Jodi

Addendum: Since the post has gone up, I’ve received emails from Turks thanking me for the explanation, and others telling me it’s all creative thinking and not accurate. While I did research the the post and the AP (I assume) fact-checked their article too, I wanted to excerpt from one of the emails for the opposing view:

Some of my colleagues do not hesitate to tell such city legends or stories about cats-in this case- which helps this misconception to grow further. Please do not forget that Istanbul has the most religious population only for the last 30-40 years. Never before was such as dense distribution. Just remember the Rums, Greeks, Armenians, all other minorities, they all loved and fed cats along with us. If you have been to Athens, you will be surprised to see so much dogs and cats on the streets. As I personally lived in Italy for a considerable time, I may say that all the missing cats in “centro” would meet you as you go to suburbs and small villages.

The best posts on the web, straight to your inbox.

(My monthly newsletter for those who love to read)

(No spam, just fascinating links to learn from.)

Share this this post on social media

You might also like to read:

Just returned from Istanbul. I saw a restaurant owner feeding cats some offcuts – one of the (non-Turkish) diners asked ‘Why do you feed the cats?’. He said ‘Because God is watching’, which I think is the best explanation anyone can have – and also which reflects on your comments about the Prophet, the qadi and so on.

Thank you for the reply…if more people would read this article and those people who hurt animals read this and realize they are responsible for their actions…and accountable for them when they leave this earth maybe just maybe they would think twice…Humans are not superior beings all of us…human and other species have to learn how to live with one another in harmony and treat each other with respect

Hi . Love u article . I was wondering why so many catsup instanbul . I am a Muslim & from MALAYSIA . It is true that the prophet (Pbuh) loves cats & it is nice to know that Istanbul takes care of them . In malaysia we don’t do the same, I wish we would.

Lovely article. Unfortunately, I think there must be some kind of cat flu going around as we saw 3 cats in different places with snot dripping down their noses and I have never seen this anywhere else before.

just came back from Istanbul yesterday, I had a very similar positive experience by feeding, petting and taking care of street cats while I was staying in Sultanahmet. As a cat fan, I was very pleased to see locals feeding them and smiling at me with my bag pack and cat food ready for distribution at every corner of the streets while visiting the old city. From the information given by locals, the authorities do their best to take care of the stray cats and dogs.

true or not, i love this post! The pictures I took of the stray animals (mostly cats) during my time in the baltic countries and on through Greece and Turkey never fail to bring a smile to my face. i wish it had been the same of the numerous strays I encountered in South America! Either way, as an animal lover, I’ll always value a bit of humor and recognition to our feline friends!

i came to live in istanbul from london seven years ago. on the surface, the street animals seem well cared for, however the real story is very different. deeply saddened by the sheer volume of cats, those injured either by human cruelty or reckless driving, diseases like FIV, Calcivirus (those ‘flu like symptoms you saw that often kill)in cats and Parvo and Distemper in dogs, i created a street animal rescue group on facebook.
for the last two and a half years we have rescued and looked after hundreds of animals, arranged adoptions in and out of Turkey, found lost animals,and spayed and neutered those in our care.
to see the situation for yourselves, you are welcome to join our group Cihangir Cool for Cats… we are now heading towards a thousand members in countries all over the world.

Many of my family members have visited Turkey, and I’ve heard endless stories of how they met so many (friendly) cats in Istanbul. My parents told me, they went to several restaurants to buy food, specifically just to feed the homeless cats. However, when they mentioned to the restaurant owners the food was for the cats, many of them gave them food for free! It turns out a lot of the Istanbul restaurants keep food aside JUST for the purpose of feeding the cats. Another lovely cat story: One night, my dad saw an elderly gentleman put cat food out in a deserted park and nearly 20 cats came to eat. My dad asked him how often he does this. The gentleman said that he comes every night to feed the cats, and he told my dad, “These are my cats.” =)

A great article and some information. I was in Istanbul in February. While I loved the city as whole and all of its sights, the feline community almost diverted my attention. Many times, in various locations in the city I encountered cats. Some were quite personable and seemed to be very aware of the tourist trade. For me they became a revered part of Istanbul.

Hi jodi
I find your lovely post, When i wonder what do foreigns think about cats in istanbul,
As a istanbulites :) as a cat lover and as a religius man i want to write about this phenemenon. Firstly there is a lot of story in islamic litarature about cats , dogs and other animals. (If you want to learn i can share) But cats have always diffirent place from the others. In islamic tradition you may feed a cat in your home even you and your cat may eat meal in same dish. Because cats known totaly clean animal(every single moment they clean themselves) . On the other hand we do not say the same things about dogs. Religius persons may only feed a dog in a garden if they need. Even most of religius person don’t touch dogs (because of uncleanliness) . Also cats have a bad name called in turkey. generally people who don’t like cats called them “thankless” and we say them cats are only thankful to god.

I am in Istanbul now and love seeing all the cats. When I returned to the hotel from my outing last night the doorman was petting a very contented looking black and white cat. I bent down to pet him also and the doorman asked me to put my hands together, almost as if clapping which I did. The cat stood on his hind legs and putting his front paws out kind of did a little beckon movement. I petted his head and he immediately began to nuzzle my legs. I told the doorman I was sorry I didn’t have a reward for him, I wish I had some food. He laughed as another doorman walked up and together they said not to worry; he just ate and is well fed. And to be honest, I could tell. It made the perfect end for the perfect day.

I too, just got back from Istanbul. I loved your article and the comments as well. I plan to return to Istanbul, not for the touristic sites this time, but for the cats. I’m amazed to see strays who clearly trust people so much. On the other hand, I’ve read about the work of some people who care for the wounded and diseased ones, and I’ve read of the tragic history of Istanbul’s dogs, and I feel deeply concerned for them. Also, how is it possible that all these stray dogs could be pushed away to the forrests outside the capital to fend for themselves without human help? This is a strange place with a marvellous exchange between cats and humans, but there are also a lot of animal abusers, and people who keep dogs on leashes in their gardens without ever taking them for a walk or paying them any attention. Cats and dogs all are God’s creations.

We arrived in Istanbul this morning and like the rest of you, I was amazed to see so many cats. So many! I was near Izmir last October so I know that cats are treated well (I too have a lovely story from when we ordered fish at a restaurant in Kusadasi and asked if we could share with the cats…the server laughed and said “of course! He needs to eat too!”) we also saw many well fed dogs in that area but certainly not in Istanbul – they are scrawny and clearly unloved. I think I will get a bag of food tomorrow so my children can enjoy feeding the lovely city cats here in Istanbul :). What a city of friendly people. We had so many people offer to help us today as we lugged children and suitcases from airport to tram to Taksim. A Syrian lad was especially kind and offered so many tips and suggestions whilst we sat on the tram. Love these people.